New Darkroom - Protecting Floors?

Fragomeni · Sep 10, 2011

Hi all,

I need some help here and it's kind of time sensitive. My girlfriend and I may need to move into a new house soon and there may or may not be dedicated studio space with concrete floors like my current darkroom has. The house will likely be a 3 beedroom and I will turn one of the rooms into the darkroom. We're looking at houses with wooden and tile floors and I need to figure out how to protect the flooring in whatever room becomes the darkroom. I've heard about various types of floor coverings, some vinyl and other materials, that are cut to fit the room and then layed down over the existing floor (some with a removable adhesive). Can anyway offer any insight into these types of solutions or ideas on other options? Thank you!!

dpurdy · Sep 10, 2011

If I was presented with that problem I think I would go to the Home Depot or Lowes and get a roll of plastic to cover the floor and then put a piece of cheap carpet on top.
Dennis

Oxleyroad · Sep 10, 2011

dpurdy said:
If I was presented with that problem I think I would go to the Home Depot or Lowes and get a roll of plastic to cover the floor and then put a piece of cheap carpet on top.
Dennis

I did this exact thing! The carpet I got came from the rubbish of a building renovation. In the end, I cut up the carpet into small 2 to 3foot squares and put out in the rubbish over a couple of weeks. Floor perfect.

Fragomeni · Sep 10, 2011

I'm avoiding carpet entirely. Carpet collects and kicks up dust and in Phoenix (desert) that just isn't an option. Some ideas from another forum are to cover the original flooring with plasitic as mentioned and then cover that with inter-locking rubber tiles. Anyone have experience using these in a darkroom? Either way, I know I'll be covering the floor with a plastic/ vinyl/ other non-permeable material and then covering that with something else. The question is what is the best semi-permenant (still removable) top covering. So far the inter-locking tiles seem the best.

wildbill · Sep 10, 2011

Francesco, I just did the same thing. To protect my hardwood floor I bought a silver/brown heavy duty tarp at lowes, cut off the grommets and laid it down. I stapled the corners where there were formerly carpet tack strips. I then ordered enough linkable 2x2 black gym mats from great mats.com and covered the entire floor with those (cutting the teeth off for the edges. It lays down very flat and is nice to stand on all day. If I fall after too many beers, My head should be okay. Total cost was about $200 for a 11x12 room.

Fragomeni · Sep 10, 2011

Francesco, I just did the same thing. To protect my hardwood floor I bought a silver/brown heavy duty tarp at lowes, cut off the grommets and laid it down. I stapled the corners where there were formerly carpet tack strips. I then ordered enough linkable 2x2 black gym mats from great mats.com and covered the entire floor with those (cutting the teeth off for the edges. It lays down very flat and is nice to stand on all day. If I fall after too many beers, My head should be okay. Total cost was about $200 for a 11x12 room.

That sounds like exactly what I'm trying to do. I hadn't thought of the gym matts before either.

M.A.Longmore · Sep 10, 2011

.
I'm thinking about installing some leftover laminate flooring,
over the existing wood flooring. And then an epoxy paint to
create a protective coating. Just in case the darkroom needs
to be dismantled in the future.

Ron
.

sdotkling · Sep 10, 2011

I, too, just did this. Home Depot sells vinyl flooring, 12 feet wide by however long you need it. Mine looks like wood strip flooring, and it's impenetrable, wears well and my wife even thought it was real wood, why would I waste money on that in a darkroom? No glue, no nails. Stuff is great.

Bob-D659 · Sep 11, 2011

The foam tiles work well on concrete floors, or over 6 mil poly film to protect good flooring. Get the child's play area ones, then you have a nice red/blue/green/yellow floor. Your feet will love you, and so will your glass thermometer when it doesn't break when it rolls off the counter.

ozphoto · Sep 11, 2011

I used some old leftover linoleum to line my darkroom floor. It's rather an ugly brown colour, but mopping up spills is a breeze and totally eliminates dust that a carpet can cause. (And I can't see it in the dark! )

New Darkroom - Protecting Floors?

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